What to do with THICK kimchi juice?

The bottle was bought in September and the kimchi was finished about 2.5 weeks ago. What is left is a very thick and fermented kimchi juice. Do I really have to throw this away or what can I make with this, other than the usual (kimchi jigae, soon dubu)? In fact, I haven't dared to make those dishes yet because of the intense odor and strength of the "juice"

I posted in Los Angeles because I know Los Angeles is awesome for Korean food, korean everything...

I pour it into my kimchee pancake batter in place of some of the liquid in the recipe. I use Hannaone's kimchee pancake recipe which he posted in this forum. Let me know if you want the recipe and I'll locate it for you.

but it doesn't use thick, fermented kimchi juice...or any kimchi juice in the recipe....but thanks for introducing me to that recipe....it's definitely going on my to-do list...

i'm thinking that i'll just treat the thick kimchi juice like regular juice and just water it down.....i'm going to make soondubu tonight and hopefully, it won't be sour....any tips on lowering the sourness scale, other than adding water? honey?

Whatever you do, don't add honey to your soondubu. Just keep adding water as necessay. You could add a pinch of sugar, but definitely not honey.

Hannaone's recipe doesn't call for kimchi juice, it's just my personal "tweak." The juice will make the pancakes look red instead of a "cleaner" beige (more traditional) color, but I think it tastes better with the juice. ;-)

If you're planning to buy additional kimchee to replace the eaten kimchee, you could always make kimchee chigae using the new kimchee and the old juice. I've never used kimchi juice in soondubu chigae, just kimchee chigae.

As a last resort, you could use a little when making spicy ramen (I like Shin Ramen or Neuguri). I just pour a little into the soup as it's cooking.

Good luck with your pancakes! I always make a bunch around the holidays for family and friends. They freeze well, so definitely make extras to keep on hand.

Another fun one is budae jjigae (google it too), or "Army Base Stew". Anything found in the pantry in the 1950 goes into it (items found on US army bases during Korean War). Spam, hot dogs, baked beans, shredded cabbage, instant ramen noodles (with or without the seasoning packet). Some even add Velveeta (I'll take a pass). Great if seasoned with gojuchang paste and korean powdered red pepper. The fermented kimchi juice would make it so much better!

That is an excellent idea! I would also add some rice wine vinegar, sugar and maybe some toasted sesame seeds just before serving, Just make sure you squeeze out all the extra water after salting the cucmbers. Otherwise, your pickles will be soggy instead of crisp.

I use small persian cucumbers or if they're not available, then long thin english hothouse cucumbers. Just make sure the cucumbers are really firm and not mushy. For the persiam cucumbers, I just cut them in half length-wise then slice them thinly on the bias. No need to peel or seed them, since the seeds in the small cucumbers are pretty nominal. If you use english cucumbers, peel, cut in half length-wise, then use a small spoon to remove the seeds from the core. Slice thinly on the bias.

Place the cut cucumbers in a large bowl, then liberally salt and let the cucumbers sit for a while until you see a large quantity of water in the bowl. I generally slice, salt, then cover the cucumbers and place in the fridge for a while or even overnight. Then use your hands or place the cucumbers in a cheese cloth and try to remove as much water from them as possible.

Then you can mix them in various seasonings or as someone suggestd earlier in the thread, use some of the thick kimchi juice and if necessary, add some sweetner (I use splenda), a dash of ajimirin and if you like, some rice wine vinegar. I've also used a little bit of Thai chili sauce mixed with Korean ground red pepper flakes or red pepper paste. Or just use rice wine vinegar with sweetner and sprinkle some roasted sesame seeds on top. Others may have additional recipes/tips, but that's how I do mine.

I haven't tried this, or making my own Kimchee... but if I did I would use the juice in a brine for Corned Beef. Theres probably enough garlic in there for a Pastrami... So add 1 tbsp of TenderQuick per lb of Beef Brisket... OR approx the juice from one stalk of celery for "natural" Nitrate instead of TQ + 1 Cup Kosher salt. Seal it up ina zip or vac-pac bag for 10 days i the fridge, turning every other day.